Your Favorite Celebrities — Including David Beckham and Sebastian Stan — Weigh In on What Makes Someone Sexy

David Beckham

David Beckham, the Sexiest Man Alive of 2015, gave a diplomatic answer for the meaning of “sexy”: “I suppose it’s what every individual thinks, really," stays the soccer star, 49, who has been married to Victoria Beckham for 25 years. "That’s what’s great about a human. They have different likes and dislikes. And some people have things that they think is sexy and some things that they don’t.”

Sebastian Stan

For Sebastian Stan, 42, sexy is “pure and simple.”

“It’s confidence and ownership of self, absolutely,” the A Different Man actor says. “It doesn’t matter what else is going on. If you own yourself, then I feel you’re good.”

Rachel Zoe

Rachel Zoe needs a man who can take care of himself.

"A guy that needs a woman to carry him and babysit him or mom him or fix him or tell him how to be, that's not a good look," says the fashion designer, who recently split from husband Rodger Berman. "The sexiest man alive just has his s--- together and can carry himself in any room."

Zoe, 53, prefers "confident" men who don't "need validation" from others. As for ego-driven guys, they're "not sexy at all," she remarks.

Anthony Ramos

Personality is the make-or-break factor for Anthony Ramos. 

“If you meet somebody who you may not necessarily be attracted to immediately, but then they start talking and they’ll start cracking jokes and you’re like, ‘Wow. She’s really nice, she’s funny, she’s charismatic, she’s thoughtful,’ and all of those things, I think make someone sexy,” Ramos, 33, says.

The Twisters star adds, “Sexy is different to different people. For me, I would say that somebody with ambition, goals. That makes somebody sexy.”

Austin Stowell

“Sexy to me is people who take care of their family,” NCIS: Origins star Austin Stowell, 39, tells PEOPLE in a joint interview with former Sexiest Man Alive Mark Harmon. “Sexy to me is people who look you in the eye and tell you the truth and treat people who are in positions of service with respect.”

Jennifer Tilly

Sexy goes beyond the surface for Jennifer Tilly. The Oscar-nominated actress and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 66, admits she has never been attracted to men with "perfect six-packs." Instead, she prioritizes "a sense of humor, a personality and also a caring sense."

"I’ve been with my man for 20 years, and he has all the qualities that I mentioned previously, except for the perfect six-pack," says Tilly, who is in a relationship with poker player Phil Laak. "As far as I'm concerned, he's the perfect man."

Mark Duplass

The Morning Show star Mark Duplass, 47, had a name in mind when thinking of “sexy” — Sterling K. Brown. Duplass starred alongside the Oscar nominee in the 2022 film Biosphere, and he recalls how Brown worked “12 hours a day for three weeks in a sweaty, s------- built set on the east side of L.A.”

“He loves acting, and he was gracious with the crew," says Duplass. "He was lively and energetic, put an incredible performance. He’s hot as f—. That’s it. It’s SKB… or bust,."

Ron Funches

Ron Funches of Loot reveals his definition of sexy comes from watching HBO’s House of the Dragon.

“You’re sexy when you can make the people around you feel safe and feel free to be themselves,” Funches, 41, says. “I try to provide that type of atmosphere for anyone around me, that you are free to be who you are always around me.”